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# GRAPHIC: U.S. consumers spent more on food in 2022 than ever before
- URL: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/graphic-u-s-consumers-spent-more-on-food-in-2022-than-ever-before/
- Published: 2024-02-01T14:54:05.000Z
- Updated: 2024-02-01T14:54:05.000Z
- Description: Even after adjusting for inflation, the amount Americans spent on food — at home and at restaurants and bars — reached the highest figure recorded by the USDA.
- Author: Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest
- Tags: Data Harvest, TP::Explainer, USDA, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-06-18 04:56

The amount of money U.S. consumers spend on food has increased by about 70% since 1997, [according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture](https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2023/september/u-s-consumers-spent-more-on-food-in-2022-than-ever-before-even-after-adjusting-for-inflation/?ref=investigatemidwest.org). The cost of food has even [outstripped the rate of inflation](https://www.investigatemidwest.org/graphic-food-prices-especially-meat-are-outstripping-historical-inflation/), and Americans now spend way more on food than they did in the mid-1990s.

The dollar amounts reflect spending at grocery stores and at restaurants and bars. Except for dips during the Great Recession and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of food has steadily increased over the past 25 years, according to the USDA.

As food prices climb, food companies — such as the large meat processing companies Tyson Foods and JBS — reap record profits. Producers, on the other hand, have been [struggling](https://www.investigatemidwest.org/a-consolidated-market-leaves-ranchers-wondering-whats-next-2/) with low prices for the meat they sell.

[![Made with Flourish](https://www.investigatemidwest.org/content/files/public-flourish-studio/resources/made_with_flourish.xml) ](https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/16636447/?utm%5Fsource=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=visualisation/16636447)